


Into Dust

by anothergalaxy



Category: South Park
Genre: Angst, Bullying, Fluff, Harassment, Homophobic Language, M/M, Obsessive Behavior, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Panic Attacks, Slice of Life, Slurs, teenagers are weird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-04-30 04:14:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5149910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anothergalaxy/pseuds/anothergalaxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You and your ragtag group of friends adopt the new kid into your circle, and things escalate between the two of you before you can even gather what is happening. Your name is Craig Tucker and you've never felt like this about anyone and you never thought you would.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Since South Park sucked me right back into Creek after 10 fucking years here you go, hope you like it. It's been a while since I've written. All the tags are precautionary for what I'm sure will be coming up, although it will be very tame. Most of it will be Tweek with his anxiety and OCD and all that stuff. Any questions, comments, constructive criticism, whatever is greatly appreciated!! Anyway enjoy!
> 
> Edit: So I went and edited everything together, I'm writing this whole story on my phone so I noticed a lot of errors in spelling, etc. because my phone likes to add words and letters where it wants. Should be all fixed up now!

This morning started out like any other morning in South Park for Craig Tucker. A shrill ring roused you from sleep, your hand expertly slapping over the snooze button though you had yet to open your eyes. When you finally do, you glance at the clock and bring your hands up to rub at your face. 7:32. You get out of bed with a sigh and shoot a quick text to Clyde to be ready in 10, fuckass, before dressing yourself for school. After you tug on your boots and hat by the door you walk out to your shit heap of a car. Her name is Alice and she isn't very pretty but she runs well enough to get you from point a to point b. It takes you about 2 minutes to get to Clyde’s and he is already out in the driveway. He waves very animatedly before walking over to your car as you park in front of the house. He climbs in with a smile and leans his head on his bag to face you.  
"Good moooorning Craiiig," he sings, his voice lilting and brimming with too much energy for such an early hour.  
You heave a sigh as he chuckles. You aren't much of a morning person, and Clyde knows that very well. You pull away from the house as he fumbles with the knobs of your heater. He knows the radio is off limits in the morning because that's the time you like to listen to your own music the most. He lets out a foggy breath as the heat finally kicks on and he wiggles his fingers in front of the vents.  
"Did you do the trig homework?" he asks, leaning forward to shuffle through his bag. You simply shake your head.  
"Trig sucks," you scoff, glancing at him to see him pull a binder from his bag and slip it into your own.   
"Get it done, man. I know you have a free period first thing." You mumble a quick yes, mother, and inform him you managed to get the German homework finished because you know for a fact he only took that class to have another class he could hang out with you in. There was no way he did it and you could tell you were right as he fished around for your folder with his tongue poking out the side of his mouth. You pull into the school parking lot with a chuckle and he zips both of your bags back up. Another normal morning in South Park, Colorado.

You spend the first 10 minutes in your free period copying Clyde's answers to your homework, but still take time to at least read the questions to make sure you could figure it out for yourself. That was the only thing you needed to finish so you take a glance around the room as you tuck away the folders. Butters was seated to your left, scribbling away at something on his desk. He looks busy so you decide not to bug him. Stan and Kenny are here too, but to be honest you don't really like them at all. Not that you were too fond of anyone to begin with. Wendy and Red are not too far from the other two, giggling to themselves and glancing between each other and the two boys in front of them. Gross. And then there was someone you had never seen before. He was blonde, hair slicked back away from his face and sticking up at odd angles. A smattering of freckles went from his cheekbones to where you could see the collar of his shirt resting just above his collarbones. They probably went further. You realize you've been staring when he twitches his head and glances over at you. You hadn't noticed the small tics of his head or his shaking shoulders and fingers until he turned his attention to you. Your breath catches in your throat as you turn away, clenching your fingers around the edge of your desk.  
What the fuck was that? That never happens to you. You shut your eyes and pinch the bridge of your nose for a few minutes when the bell brings you out of your stupor. You look over and the blonde is already gone.  
When you meet up with Clyde and Token after first period, you act totally normal. 100% authentic Craig Tucker, except Token is giving you an odd look because to be honest you hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying at all.  
"...Craig?", Token quips, smacking your arm with the back of his hand.  
"Yeah, okay," you mumble, and the other two share a quick look before following you to your next class.  
Trig passes without incident, and soon enough you are sitting at the lunch table you and your small group have claimed as your own. It's tacos for lunch today and you do a small happy dance as you get in line. You grab extra cookies and throw them on your tray and return to the table to Clyde and Token talking to each other very animatedly.  
“Craig!! Craig you'll totally know this one!” Clyde all but yells, already scooting closer to you before you've even sat down. You set the tray down and plop into the seat, regarding him very cautiously.  
“What," you huff out, but you don't listen long enough to hear what he has to say to you. Your eyes meet with murky hazel eyes clouded by freckles and light lashes and you feel your heart skip in your chest. The other boy quickly looks away, tugging his lips between his teeth hard enough for you to see them start to burn red. "Dude, are you okay?" You're startled by the question and do your best not to show that on your face when you pull your eyes away from the boy across the room. You have a reputation after all. You shake your head and start in on your food.  
“Nothing, just didn't sleep well," you mumble, and Token pats your back a couple times.  
“Anyway, Clyde and I were planning on heading to my house after school, my parents are out for the night so we can have a game night.” he says, and you nod and agree that it sounds like a fun idea.  
While they go back to eating you let your attention wander back to the new kid. He is trying to eat but his hands are shaking and it doesn't look like a very easy task for him, most of the food he shovels up falling back to the table. He grunts and sets the firk down, opting to just fold the tray up and funnel the rest of his food in his mouth. When he sets the tray down and starts chewing, his eyes quickly darting to yours. You can't look away and he doesn't either as he lifts hus arm to wipe his mouth with his sleeve. You feel your face flush before you get up to throw your food away and leave the cafeteria. What the fuck is happening to you?

The end of the school day comes slowly for you, you spend the majority of your AP biology class staring at the blonde you hadn't known would be here, and you're ecstatic about that. You're trying not to make it obvious of course. He's sitting in the row to the left of you, 3 desks ahead. You can barely see the profile of his face and sometimes his eyes slide lazily to your face and you look away quickly. You know he knows because his hands move to his shirt and he's tugging at the collar before he moves to knot his fingers in his hair. He rests his elbows on the desk and tries to focus on the front of the room where the teacher is drawing on the dry erase board. His notebook isn't even open on his desk. You decide to pay attention to the material for the remaining 15 minutes and at the end of the class you notice he is shaking much less than before.

You meet up with Token and Clyde before the last period of the day. Their classroom is across from yours, while you are in advanced drawing and painting, they are in an American cooking class they picked up for fun to fill some space. It always smelled really good by the end of the period and they always save you a little of whatever they make that day. You chat in the hall until the bell rings then make your way to your respective classes.  
You're working on a project with an easel set up in front of you, swathes of paint on a tray next to you, fingers coated in paint. The project is to create something that makes you feel different than usual. You had already started the project a days before, a finished painting rolled up on the table beside you with a rubber band around it and the project title on the back. The easel in front of you has a messy outline of the new kid, his pale yellow hair and green button up already painted in with the rest of him colorless. You scoff and shake your head slightly. The bell rings as you rinse your paint tray and brushes. When you pass by your teacher's desk she gives you a small smile and you hand her your finished project.  
“Thanks Craig! So if this is the project, who's that?” she hums, featuring to the painting you left to dry by your desk.You rack your brain for how to respond but you can't think of anything so you settle on a shrug.  
You meet up with Clyde and Token outside of your respective classrooms and see they're already out, chatting with a 3rd member who you can't see behind Clyde's body who is facing away from you. When you approach them your breath hitches in your throat.  
“Craig! How was class? This is Tweek, he's gonna hang out with us tonight," Clyde beams as he moves to the side, revealing the person who had been catching your interest all day. Now you know how Stan felt in third grade whenever Wendy tried to talk to him. You felt like the contents of your stomach were going to end up on the floor, especially when you realized the kid was staring at something behind you. You turn and see the easel you were working on still sitting at your desk and that's when you finally throw up onto the the floor.  
“Dude!!! What the fuck?!” Token yells, stepping back so he doesn't get anything on his fancy shoes. You're hunched over with your hands on your knees and you wipe a hand over your mouth. Definitely not another normal day in South Park Colorado for Craig Tucker.

The next thing you hear after Clyde's obnoxious yelling is a loud sigh to your right. You lean up from your crouched position and adjust your hat, glancing at the custodian next to you. He's shaking his head and you almost crack a smile before you utter, "Sorry, sir. Musta been the tacos.”  
You hear Clyde mention that you didn't even eat your lunch today and Token chuckling as the custodian leaves to get some saw dust and a mop. You turn back to your friends and notice Tweek is still staring at the easel in the art room. You nod towards the front entrance of the school and start walking away.  
“Dude what was that?” Clyde is still laughing and you almost want to punch him. It was pretty hilarious though. You shrug and Token jogs to catch up with you. Clyde lags back to talk to, or rather at, Tweek who looks very uninterested, Clyde's hands waving animatedly in the air. You look over at Token and he bumps his shoulder into your arm. You're just a bit taller than him, unsurprisingly, you're taller than most people.  
“You feelin okay dude?” His concern is written all over his face but it's really nothing to be concerned about. A nod, and a shrug, and you almost want to drop it but you've actually been weirding yourself out today. Token has always been patient, and he's always been more understanding than Clyde. Not that Clyde wasn't, he just gets very easily excited.  
“If you mean my health, yes I'm fine. Just got something on my mind today," you shrug again. He responds with a nod and you know he won't press you further. Clyde comes up behind you and slings an arm around your shoulders. "Were you two having a moooment?” You crack a smile and shove him away from you.  
“Yeah man, we were and you just ruined it, so I hope you're happy.” He pouts before he's on you again and you struggle to get away but he's got a good grip when he wants to and he has your arms trapped against your sides.  
“God dammit dude! Get off or so help me your ass is done when I finally get free," you growl. Token just shakes his head as he continues past the two of you. Tweek is frozen behind you, not quite sure what to make of the situation.  
“I'll meet you guys at my place," and with a wave, Token heads for his car.  
Clyde gives him a giant smile to make up for the fact that he's refusing to release you so he can't wave. “See you in a few!" he yells and you sigh then look back to Tweek. While Clyde is preoccupied you nod to him, motioning for him to come jab at Clyde's sides. He shakes his head vigorously and you stamp your foot on the concrete. The blonde grabs at his shirt, fiddling with the buttons and pulling on the hem. You glare slightly and he finally sighs and quietly approaches the two of you. You grin like a mad man, you can't believe he is actually going to do it. Time almost slows as he brings his index finger up and jabs it into Clyde's squishy sides. His whole body seizes up and he smacks you in the face when he abruptly pulls away. You let out a loud ‘fuck!’ and bring your hand up to you face. Tweek's face drops instantly and his little noises get louder. "Ngh!! Fuck, oh my god!!! Are you okay?” he yells, his words stringing together and you nod, hissing out a breath you didn't know you han been holding. You hear Clyde laughing and you pull your hand from your face to pinch him. He groans when your fist hits his shoulder and you cringe when you see red on his pristine white shirt. A glance at your hand let's you know that yes, it is your blood and you bring your hand back to your mouth. Tweek pulls your hand away and gets a tissue from his backpack then presses it to your lip.  
“It's split pretty bad, man." he mutters, earning another shrug before you place your hand over Tweeks, ignoring the jarring feeling of his fingers on yours and you take the tissue from him. You dab at your lip and offer a thank you before punching Clyde again and stalking to your car.  
He follows after you and you notice Tweek is much quieter now as he climbs into the back seat. You watch him twitch through the rear view mirror for a few seconds as he buckles his seatbelt then you snap out of your daze and start the car. The way to Tokens is quiet and you don't really mind. You enjoy quiet. Clyde doesn't even bother trying to fiddle with the radio after you shoot him a glare with blood still dripping from your mouth.  
As soon as you pull into Tokens driveway Clyde is out the door. Tokens house is the nicest of the three of yours and you all enjoy hanging out there much more than yours or Clyde’s. You turn the car off and step out, opening the back door for Tweek after you shut yours. He seems startled at first but nods at you and follows you into Tokens house. You immediately feel at home and you think it's mostly because you can smell pizza rolls. Token is such a great guy. Clyde is already gone so you ask Tweek to follow you and he does without question. You lead him to the bathroom and rinse your mouth out in the sink. He's leaning in the doorway and as you spit out the last bit of bloody water you realize you never even introduced yourself.  
“I'm Craig, by the way.” you say before wiping at your wet mouth with a wad of toilet paper. He nods, because of course he already knew, he had been hanging out with your best friends, but either way he doesn't say anything about it.  
“Tweek. Its ngh-nice to meet you.” he stutters ans you smirk as you search through the cabinet above the sink for something to disinfect your lip with. Once you deem it good enough you lead him to the kitchen. Token and Clyde are sitting at the island, a small television on the counter is playing Red Racer.  
"Clyde says you are going to need a dose of Red racer to put you in a good mood. What did he do this time?" Token chuckles, turning to face you while you like a plate with pizza rolls. Clyde smirks over at you and you toss a pizza roll at his head. Token points out your busted lip and you throw another pizza roll at Clyde's head when he starts cackling.  
“This dick head who is most certainly not my friend hit me in the face," you yell, cringing at the nasally tone your voice takes. Clyde laughs harder and shouts, “It was Tweeks fault!”  
Tweek flushes and stutters, not sure how to react at first before he finally forms words and those words are glorious.  
“Hey fuck you! You were trying to kidnap him or something! You could be working for the government!”  
You spit out a laugh and some pizza roll crumbs while Token stares at him with a surprised expression. You waste no time ganging up on Clyde.  
“Yeah! Fuck you man! I'm not yours to experiment on!” you cry, and Tweek twitches violently and let's out a loud oh my god! It has you laughing again and this time Token is staring incredulously at you. Your laughter dies down and you pick up your empty plate to rinse it in the sink. Token and Clyde follow you, one of them turning the TV off as you pass.  
“To the game room then?” Token asks kindly, smiling when Tweeks eyes widen, probably at the thought of a whole room dedicated to gaming.  
“Just wait til you see it man," Clyde slings an arm around Tweeks shoulders and steers him down the hall to the game room. You hear a noise of excitement from the blonde and smile. Token finishes cleaning up the dishes and you dry them and put them in the cabinets. The silence between you is comfortable so you don't say anything to break it.  
When you make it to the game room Clyde and Tweek are sitting on the futon with controllers in their hands. Grand Theft Auto is on the screen, you should have figured it would be when you hear Clyde yell “gimme that car bitch!” from down the hallway. Tweek is cradling the controller close to him, making sure his tremors don't cause it to drop to the floor. His character is wearing nothing but briefs, he has an pink afro and a gun in hand. Clyde's character is in front of him, and it looks like Tweek got out of his stolen car to shoot at him. He's cackling as he takes aim and empties his clip into Clyde's character. You stop watching to follow Token over to the ping pong table. He tosses you a paddle and you do a quick back and forth for first serve. Over Tokens shoulder you can see the other two, and you catch a set of murky hazel eyes before the blonde turns his attention back to the game in front of him. It's going to be a long night.  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I apologize for the short length! I hope to update very frequently so eventually I'll get my ass in gear and make them longer and better, but it's been a good while since I've written anything. Enjoy!!

It's around 1am when Token mentions that he has a headache. You figure he is ready to head to bed so you offer Clyde and Tweek a ride home. Clyde nods and gets up from his place on the couch and you notice that Tweek is actually asleep, controller still in hand and sitting up straight. You chuckle and jab him in the shoulder and he wakes with a start. “God, fuck!” he cries out before sucking in a breath, his eyes darting around the room before the settle on your frame. Startled, you quickly crouch down and place your hands on his shoulders. “Dude it's all right it's just me. I'm bringing Clyde home, it's 1am. Do you want a ride?”, you speak gently but he sinks back into the couch away from your hands and you quickly pull them back and mutter an apology. He shakes in a breath and nods. You look back towards the other two and are confused when they're actually not there. You stand and make for the door, the blonde following close behind. Tokens house is big enough to get lost in so you keep your mouth shut when his fingers brush your hand, and if he notices he doesn't seem to mind.

Clyde and Token are standing by the front door talking in hushed voices. You figure it is probably because Token isn't feeling good. They turn when they hear you coming down the hall and Token reaches for your jacket. You heave a big sigh and he pulls you in and nuzzles his head into your shoulder.  
“Dude, I'll probably see you tomorrow, no need to get all touchy,” and you hope you sound annoyed but you love when Token gives you hugs so you pull him in tight and rest your head on his.  
He nods and pats your back then pulls away and passes you off to Clyde. He looks like he's got tears in his eyes and you laugh.  
“Jesus, dude. That was such a cute display of affection.” He wipes at his eyes and you sock him in the shoulder. But he's quick, and he grabs your fist and drags you to him before trapping you between his arms.  
“We gotta make it cuter than that man," he hums and you struggle to get away and wonder aloud how you allowed this to happen to you for a second time today.  
“We still have a 5 minute ride, you don't need a hug.” You nod to Clyde when he pulls away and he opens the front door before saying goodbye to Token again. You smile when Token offers Tweek a fist and he tentatively knocks his own against it. He looks like he's never been offered a fist bump before.  
When you climb in the car you let Clyde change the station to some brainwash pop station. "You must be in a good mood now, you're letting me touch the radio!” he proclaims loudly, moving in his seat to the beat of another Nicki Minaj song and you sigh as you pull out of the driveway. Tweek is already asleep in the back seat, his head pressed against the window. You drive gently the entire way to Clyde’s. The ride is silent aside from the din of the radio, and you once again welcome it warmly.  
You pull into Clydes driveway and he grabs his bag from the floor and climbs out with a sleepy wave. You nod and shut the radio off when he's out. You pull out out of the driveway and give him a wave and don't realize that you don't know where Tweek lives until you're a block from your own house. Muscle memory you figure. It's almost half past 1am and no one else is around the streets. You stop at a stop sign and turn to the back seat, gently rousing the blonde. It takes him a second to remember where he is and you turn back to the road to make sure there is still no one around.  
“I don't know where to drop you off.” you speak softly. The other boy smiles and rubs a hand over his eyes. He looks really tired. Like, really. There are dark circles under his eyes and his whole appearance is disheveled. He is looking around where you are and you think he must not know town very well yet.  
“Just tell me what street, I know them so well I could probably make it around town in my sleep.”  
You drive to where he tells you and he leans in for a fist bump when you get to his house. You gently nudge his knuckles and he smiles sleepily at you.  
“Goodnight, Craig.” And then he's gone. You watch him walk through his front door before you throw Alice in reverse to head home.

Over the weekend, you spend most of your free time thinking about Tweek. Honestly, you have no clue why. You had never really paid this much attention to another human being. Something about him demanded your attention, and you want to figure out why. When Monday rolls around, Tweek sits with you in study hall and he sits with you in biology and he sits with you at lunch and he chats with you in the hall before your last block. This happens every day. It thrills you to no end that he has decided he enjoys being your friend. Thankfully, on Friday as you drive him home, he doesn't say anything about the rolled up painting laying in the back seat, shades of green and yellow coloring it's insides. His knuckles linger against yours as he fist bumps you before he gets out of your car and walks into his house. The next day you wake up at 7am due to your internal alarm clock. Being up that early on a Saturday morning makes you want to cry. You squeeze your eyes shut and manage another hour of sleep. When you eventually crawl out of bed it's a little past 8. You meander to the kitchen and it seems like your parents aren't home but Ruby is in the kitchen. You rummage through the freezer and grab a box of waffles. Good enough for now.  
“Good morning, Craig. It's nice to know you're familiar with rooms in the house that aren't your own,” she croons as she smiles like she isn't a total bitch and you give her the finger. She knows just as well as Clyde that you aren't a morning person. Your phone vibrates in your pocket so you grab for it as you push 2 waffles down in the toaster. It's a number you don't recognize so you almost ignore it until you read the first few words which read ‘hey dude, clyde’ so you unlock your phone and check the whole thing.   
_hey dude, clyde gave me your number last night, i hope that's ok. it's tweek.’_  
It takes everything you have to not express happiness, that would be a terrible turn of events in front of Ruby. You would never hear the end of it so you tap out a quick reply.  
_'you were asking my friends for my number?’_  
You can almost hear the yelp in his reply which is almost immediate.   
_'what!!! oh my god’._  
When your waffles pop up you jump, and you notice your sister standing right next to you.  
“Who's Tweek?”, her tone is accusatory and you want to slam your phone onto the ground before she can sense that you're interested in another human. Instead you retort with a quick 'none of your business' and she just smiles before she plucks your waffles from the toaster and turns to go back to her room. You sigh and look back at your phone. _‘want to go get breakfast with me?’_ You can't keep the smile off your face when he tells you he'll be ready in 15.

When you get to Tweek’s the blonde is sitting on his front steps with a travel mug nestled between his hands. It's almost the end of November now, and his breaths are coming out with little puffs of smoke and you wonder how he can burn his lungs with cigarettes when it's already so frigid out. He wanders over to your car and climbs into the passenger seat. He shivers as he buckles his seatbelt and you smile. The ride to the diner across town is silent, aside from the radio quietly playing. It's comfortable, and it's too early for you to want to be chatting anyway.  
His mug is empty when you pull into the parking lot of the diner and as soon as the two of you are seated in a booth he has another cup in his hands. He drinks it black. The waitress comes to your table to take your order and she's batting her eyelashes extra hard at Tweek. Which, you don't blame her at all, puberty clearly had been good to him. You found yourself staring at his cheekbones, throat, collarbone. You hadn't even noticed they were both staring at you.  
“Oh, I'll get 4 eggs over easy and 2 orders of white toast, some home fries, bacon, and sausage please. Oh and some oatmeal with extra cinnamon on it.” She scribbles in her pad and walks off. Tweek drains his mug of coffee and links his fingers together on the table. You lean forward onto your elbows and smile when his fingers twitch. You're glad he doesn't know this is out of character for you.  
“How's your morning going?” You glance at your phone and see it's only 8:45 and you frown but he seems to be more of a morning person than you are.  
“Better than most so far. Yours?”, he quips, nodding his head when a waiter comes around and fills his mug with coffee and he's quick to grab it up.  
“I'm never awake this early on weekends. It's nice though," and you leave out the fact that it's only nice because he agreed to go get food with you.  
The rest of the meal is quiet, and you manage to stuff all of your food down to the blondes surprise.  
“But… but you're so thin!” he exclaims and you smile as you pat your now full stomach.  
“Well they don't call me trash compactor Craig for nothing,” you smile then shake your head. "No, no one calls me that, I don't know why I said that," you shake your head again and grab up the bill when the waitress drops it off. You stifle a laugh when you see her name written on it with her number and a winky face. Tweek tries to hand you money but you shake your head, taking out enough for the bill and a tip. You set it on the table and block the waitresses number with the cash as Tweek climbs out of the booth.  
When you get back to your car you ask Tweek if he has any plans for the day. He shakes his head and cradles his travel mug in his hands. Steam is billowing from the mouth piece and it reminds you of the cigarette smoke from earlier.  
“Now you do," you say but if he has any complaints as you drive back to your house he doesn't voice them. Your parents cars are still gone and you can tell from the silence in the house that Ruby must be gone now too. You lead Tweek to your room and shut the door behind you. He sets his mug down on your nightstand and wanders around, looking at the pictures and posters you have tacked up. There are photos of you and Clyde on almost every surface and he looks at them wistfully.  
You turn the TV on and are pleased to see it's another morning of Red Racer reruns. The volume is low and you don't mind because you've seen these all before. He stops at the cage on your dresser and starts when the little animal squeaks at him.  
“That's Zig. He's cool, he doesn't bite or anything. You can pet him if you want," and to make your point you reach into the cage and grab the squeaky little rodent. The blonde reaches out and gently scratches his head and the guinea pig squeaks happily. Your lips twith and you put Zig back then move to sit on the futon at the foot of your bed. Tweek joins you and when he sits his knee knocks against yours. You don't make an effort to move and neither does he, and when he settles you can feel the heat from his legs. He turns to face you and rests an elbow on the back of the futon. You want to paint him, with the mid morning sun coming through the window making his hair a paler color and his eyes shining like you didn't think they could. He hesitates before he speaks, stuttering for a moment.  
“What's your favorite color?” You chuckle and turn to face him, and your leg slides up against his, resting comfortably against him.  
“Blue,” you motion to your hat and hoodie and the color of the walls, “if you can't tell. What about yours?”  
He nods and rests his head against his arm. “I think green. It changes but it's usually green," his voice is soft and you nod, reaching out to fix the strings on his hoodie. He watches you silently and the rest of the day continues like this.  
After a few hours you hear the front door and freeze up. The footsteps up the stairs are too light to be your fathers, so that's one good thing. There's a light knock on your door and you look over at the blonde. His eyes are shut, his mug resting gently in his hands. You pluck it from his fingers so it wont spill when you stand and your sister opens the door as he turns and gently rubs his nose against your shoulder. You sigh deeply when you hear her gasp and you can feel her excited smile and you're not even facing her.  
“Oooh my god Craig, this is so cute" she squeals, then her hands go to her mouth and she's giggling. The blonde starts to stir and you turn to look at your sister as his eyes flutter open. He immediately clenches his eyes shut as he pulls away from you.  
“Beat it, Rube” you glare and you hope it looks intimidating. Apparently it doesn't because she walks right by you and stops in front of Tweek. He looks like he's about to keel over and die. She either doesn't notice or doesn't care. She puts out a hand and smiles.  
“I'm Ruby, Craig's little sister.” He reaches out a hand to gently shake hers, and you notice he's looking jittery again. Noticing that makes you notice that he hasn't once had a tic all morning until now. When you first saw him in class he had a lot of spasms and when you were all at Token’s he was even a bit twitchy then.  
You stand up and place a hand on her shoulder. She is pouting immediately up at you, opening her mouth to protest but you quickly lead her to the door and push her out before stepping in front of the opening.  
“Seriously Ruby, later" you shut the door and hear her huff and stomp down the hall. You turn and press your back to the door before chancing a look at Tweek. He's staring forward, pressed deep into the futon with his knees pulled to his chest. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding and return to your seat next to him. He turns to look at you and you turn to face him. He faces you and rests his head against the back of the futon. You lean down and rest your head near his, and his eyes are darker than before now that the sun isn't shining through your window. They're the last thing you see before you fall asleep, the menu screen for Terrance and Phillip: Asses of Fire 3 playing softly on a loop. You aren't awake to know he doesn't take his eyes off of you.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay!

When Sunday rolls around you spend a majority of the day at your very part time job. Your shift is 12 to 5 at the library every Sunday and it's a good way to spend the day. It's nice and boring, it goes by slowly, and you're making money. All you really do is file away returned books and reorganize the shelves. When you have nothing to do you hide in the aisles and text Tweek, usually pictures of dirty parts in books and ones with funny titles which he replies enthusiastically to. He might even find it more entertaining than you do.  
When you clock out at the end of your shift, the walk home is brisk and short. Winter is just really beginning but it's always cold in South Park. You dig your hands into the scarf around your throat and chastise yourself for not wearing gloves. When you get home you're surprised to see dinner on the table and your family seated there as well. Ruby turns to look at you when you enter the kitchen before going to make her plate. You give her the finger and sit across from your mother.  
“How was work, sweetheart?” she ask with a smile before motioning for you to get food. You grimace and reach for the bowl of potatoes in front of you.  
“Slow and boring. How was your day, mom?” you return while piling your plate with food. You didn't realize how hungry you were until you actually looked at the meal your mom made.  
“Oh, it was good. Did a bit of cleaning, a bit of cooking. Usual Sunday," she quips as she fixes her own plate and you notice your father has already started in on his food. The guy has some real manners, that's for sure.  
You nod and then there's silence. You finish your food and rinse off your plate while the rest of you family eats, minus Ruby because she has already disappeared. You rinse her plate off as well and kiss your mom's cheek before leaving for your room.  
After you kick off your shoes and tuck them under your bed you wander over to your guinea pig's cage and wiggle a finger in. He waddles over with a squeak and nudges your finger. His dish needs more food so you fill it before you sit on your bed and pull out your phone. You have a few texts and the first one is from Tweek so you open it and smile. Then you notice it's from 45 minutes ago so you hurriedly type an affirmative. The text simply reads ‘movie night at my place?’ and you're way too excited to get out of your house. You rush back down stairs and help your mom with the dishes which butters her up enough for her to allow you to leave the house. You kiss her cheek again before you put all your winter clothes back on and head out the door for Tweeks.  
He doesn't live too far from you so the walk is only about 10 minutes. You knock and he answers the door and ushers you in. As you start pulling off your scarf and coat you notice he is standing by you, fussing with the hem of his shirt.  
“Y-you look cold, Craig. Want me to make you some hot chocolate?” he asks quietly, and ou take a peek in the mirror next to his front door to see your face is actually pretty red even though you had your scarf covering everything but your eyes.You nod enthusiastically and he smiles and turns to the kitchen. You follow behind him and sit at the table while he grabs mugs and starts something in a pot on the stove.  
“Homemade hot chocolate? Are you trying to impress me?” you chuckle and the blonde does too then shakes his head, stirring cocoa powder into the pot.  
“No, I don't believe in half assed hot drinks," he scoffs, but of course he doesn't. You rest your chin on your hand and watch him flit around the kitchen and you picture him in that cute apron that's hanging on a hook next to the fridge. He places a steaming cup in front of you and makes a thoughtful noise which draws your attention to him.  
“Your face is still pretty red, man. It must be pretty chilly out," he states then motions for you to follow so you grab your cup and he leads you to his room, stopping to adjust the thermostat on the way. You reach his room and he hip bumps the door open and you're not surprised to see his room is a disaster area. There are papers balled up and strewn across the carpet, books covering every available inch of his desk, and his bed was littered with books and mugs. As soon as you notice the blanket fort in the corner of his room you notice there aren't actually any sheets or blankets on his bed.  
“Sweet man!! Awww shit please tell me we are having our movie night in that.”  
He smiles and backs into the opening of the blankets, giggling when you're out of view. You chuckle and follow him in and immediately feel at peace. There's a soft glow from the TV, a stack of dvd's placed on the floor in front of it. He sits on a mound of blankets and sinks in, casually sipping from his mug. You sink in next to him and grab at the stack of dvds to browse the titles.  
“Dude, do you only watch romcoms? Seriously?” you huff and set down a copy of Love, Actually followed by a copy of When Harry Met Sally, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, The Princess Bride and last but not least, Sleepless in Seattle.  
“Oh man, I didn't know I was watching movies with my little sister," you joke and lean back into the blankets and the blonde gives you a sharp shove to the arm.  
“Hey shut it man!! Romantic comedies are the best," he scoffs and you roll your eyes.  
“Yeah, whatever. We better be watching The Princess Bride first," and Tweek sighs and shakes his head but puts The Princess Bride in anyway. You smile and lean closer to him when he settles back into his blanket nest. You fight the urge to rest your head on his shoulder through all 98 minutes of the movie.

When you wake up, the room is dark but the tv is still on. Funny, you hadn't realized you had fallen asleep or that you were laying down. You slowly open your eyes and see that Forgetting Sarah Marshall is on, and there are a pair of sock clad feet covering the bottom half of the tv. Your head is in your new friends lap. It's okay, be cool. You gently lift an arm to place your hand next to your face. You're only slightly relieved when it lands on a pillow. You roll onto your back and stop when you see Tweeks hand right above your face. He looks like a deer caught in headlights and you wonder what he was doing.  
“Oh hey Craig. You fell asleep," he states and smiles sheepishly before dropping his hand by his side.  
“Really Tweek? I had no idea," you sit up and roll your eyes at him then figure since he apparently didn't mind you napping in his lap he wouldn't mind if you got a little closer. You inch toward him then watch his face for a reaction, but he hasn't torn his eyes from the tv. He has a dumb (read: cute) smile on his face and you inch over again then let out a startled yelp when he tosses his arm over your shoulder and pulls you flush against his side. He chuckles but still keeps his eyes trained on the tv while you melt into him. His fingers find their way to your hair and you fall asleep for a second time that night.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning you are roused awake by a sleepy looking blonde, and when you sit up you realize you aren't in your own room. He hands you a mug filled with coffee and you sip from it before setting it on his nightstand.  
“Good morning. My mom made breakfast, it's downstairs if you're hungry," his voice is soft as he stands and your stomach growls which causes him to look back at you and smile.  
“And school was cancelled because we got like a foot of snow last night. The roads are terrible, I don't think anyone's even been out to plow them yet," he states happily. You look at the clock and see it's almost 9 am. You're so grateful Tweek let you sleep in a little. You smile and grab your mug then get up to follow him into the kitchen. The smell is heavenly, and Mrs. Tweak is extremely chipper for this time in the morning.  
“Good morning boys!! You must be Craig, I've heard so much about you! Come on and sit down," she all but yells and leads you to the table that is already covered in food then goes back to the stove to flip some bacon, stopping to kiss her son's cheek on the way. Tweek flushes and stutters for a moment before huffing and moving to sit next to you.  
“I'm so glad Tweek has finally found someone nice to hang out with. He didn't have very many friends in our old town,” she hums then sets a hot plate of bacon in front of you.  
“Mom!! That's so fucking embarrassing, Jesus!” he yells and tangles his fingers in his hair, and you notice that he's started shaking again. You knock your shoulder into his and he turns his attention to you.  
“I hope I can be a really good friend to him,” you say with a smile and Tweek breaks your eye contact, turning away from you and crossing his arms over his chest.  
“I'm not a child, and I'm right here!” he huffs, ppintedly looking away from you and his mother. You chuckle and dig into the food on your plate, thanking Mrs. Tweak through a mouth full of eggs. She laughs and pats Tweek on the head on her way out of the kitchen.  
“You boys get dish duty!” she cheers. Tweek groans again and waits for her to leave before he turns back to the table to start eating. You polish off your coffee and shovel the rest of your food into your mouth while he is just starting in. You get up and wash the dishes in the sink then your plate and mug and return to the table.  
“Ya know, at least your mom thinks that kinda stuff about you. My parents couldn't give two shits about me,” you sigh, then remembering that you indeed have parents, you check your phone and aren't surprised you don't have a missed call or text wondering about your whereabouts or chastising you for not coming home on a school night. You do have 3 texts from Token and 17 from Clyde though and decide they could probably be your progressive gay dad's if that would count.  
Tweek is muttering to himself and you smack his arm and tell him to finish his food. He scoffs but quiets down enough to continue eating. You tap into your phone for a few minutes before locking it and setting it on the table.  
“Token and Clyde have been texting me, wanna chill with them today?" you ask, turning to face him. He takes the last bite of his food, contemplates for a moment then nods. The blonde grabs his plate and brings it to the sink.  
“Yeah, that sounds fun. Man, you didn't have to do all the dishes," he says and you shrug in your chair, leaning forward.  
“Yeah, but you get to put them away," and when he chuckles you smile. You're glad he isn't in a mood anymore. There's a lot you still don't know about Tweek, including what makes him tick. Which apparently includes his parents doting on him in front of company. You wish your parents would actually be normal parents instead of trying so hard to pretend they are.  
However, you feel like you actually have some weird connection with this kid, he makes you want to stick around and you can't say the same for many other people.  
Tweek is waving his hand in front of your face and you hadn't even realized he was finished with his task. The kitchen is all clean so you both make your way back to the blanket fort where you spend the rest of the morning hours joking around and watching Red Racer reruns.  
After a few hours of lounging around in mostly sleepy silence your phone starts to buzz like crazy. It's a call from Clyde so you sit up and hastily answer.  
“Hello?” you press the phone between your ear and shoulder and cringe when your neck cracks. Tweek is looking at you with his head tilted curiously and you want to tell him how cute he looks but you keep your mouth pressed firmly shut. Clyde chatters away on the other end and you nod although he can't see you.  
“Yeah, okay. See you in a bit," you end the call and look at Tweek. He still looks tired although you had been relaxing for hours, but now that you think about it you had woken up in the fort alone and he was still in his clothes from yesterday so maybe he hasn't actually slept yet.  
“Clyde and Token want us to meet at Whistlin' Willies, you down?” you ask, and he nods when his stomach rumbles at the mention of food.  
“Yeah, I just have to change first," he sat then gets up and leaves the blanket fort. Your phone is still in your hand so you play snake while you wait, your ears acutely tuned in to the sound of the blonde right outside the fort shedding his clothes. It's enough to make you blush but you steel yourself to the thought and keep your attention trained on the stupid game on your phone.  
Tweek pokes his head in the opening of the fort and smiles.  
“All set, you ready?” You nod and grab your empty mugs to drop in the kitchen on your way out. When you leave the house it's sunny but it's cold. You're still in your clothes from the day before, a pair of ripped jeans and a faded Red Racer shirt with a worn black hoodie over it. You don't bother with a jacket or gloves and halfway to Whistlin' Willies you realize how bad of an idea that was. You're shivering so you pull your hoodie sleeves over your hands. It's so cold that your face is already turning pink so no one can tell that you're blushing when Tweek takes your hand in his mitten clad one.  
"You really should have worn gloves," he states mattee of factly and you scoff and squeeze his hand as the two of you trudge through the snow.  
After a pit stop at your house for gloves and 2 rolls of quarters you make it to Whistlin' Willies and Token and Clyde are already there. It looks like they've already spent a lot of quarters if the amount of tickets they have is any indication. Clyde hugs you but you huff and pull him closer anyway, only pretending to be annoyed by the brunet's affections when in all reality you adore how touchy Clyde is. Token respects your space more with a fist bump that you enthusiastically reciprocate.  
“Hey man, you guys been here a while? You coulda called earlier," you slide into your usual booth and Clyde takes his place next to you. You pass your menu to Tweek after he sits across from you and he quietly looks it over while the other two share a look. You glare at Clyde and he knocks into you with his shoulder.  
“We haven't been here long, maybe 20 minutes,” Clyde smiles at you and you glare a moment more. It doesn't affect him because, duh, it's Clyde, he just leans closer until his head is on your shoulder and you scoff but don't move away.  
When the waitress comes around you get a pitcher of soda and 2 pizzas and the 4 of you play hangman on the back of your placemats while you wait for the food. After about 45 minutes you've eaten half a pizza and you're ready to lay on the table and sleep. Instead, you pull out your rolls of quarters and hand one to Tweek. You don't look at Clyde because you know he knows those quarters are usually reserved for him and he's going to get upset. Unfortunately the two of you are blocked in by the other 2 members of your group so you'll have to face him anyway. When you do he's looking at you with misty eyes.  
“Man I thought those were my special quarters,” he sniffles and you scoff.  
“I can't believe you're crying about this! Tweek didn't bring any extra money, ask Token for some quarters, he's loaded with them I bet," you state and Token groans and shoots you a look before reaching into his pocket and sliding some coins over to Clyde.  
“See? All better," you say and Clyde mumbles under his breath then thanks Token as the two of them get up to head to the arcade. You start to follow until you realize Tweek is still sitting down. You turn back to him and he has the roll on his hands and his fingers are shaking.  
“What's wrong?” you ask and wait a moment for an answer but he doesn't even glance at you so you sit back down next to him.  
“Tweek?” your voice is soft and that is enough to garner a response from the blonde. He shakily takes a breath in and looks at you.  
“I d-dont want to c-c-come between you a-and Clyde," he stutters, eyes darting away from yours. Your face twists into one of confusion, then amusement. You gently rest a hand on his shoulder and he sucks another shaky breath in.  
“Tweek, Clyde is easy to cry but impossible to get rid of. You won't come between us and besides, he can get over it,” you smile but he doesn't look convinced. He looks back down at the roll of coins in his hand and you squeeze his shoulder.  
“Let's go play some games,” you say then stand up from the booth and smile when he follows you into the arcade.


	5. Chapter 5

Tweek follows you closely into the arcade. He has been muttering under his breath, a hand clutching at the collar of his shirt. You snatch his hand up and he goes silent as you tug him through the rows of noisy arcade games.  
“You're going to stretch your shirt if you keep that up," you state and he hums an affirmative but you can still feels his fingers straining against your palm. You gently drag your thumb over his knuckles and feel his grip relax.  
When you finally find your friends, Clyde runs right over to you, already whining at you and you attempt to turn around but he's too fast. You drop Tweeks hand as Clyde grabs your arms, almost crying.  
“Craig, I spent all my quarters in the crane machine and it wouldn't give me what I wanted,” his voice is shrill as you work on trying to pry his fingers from your arms. When you finally get free you cringe and all but throw 2 coins into the machine. Clyde points excitedly at what he wants and you move the claw above the distorted looking chinpokomon plush. You smash the button and it lowers over the things head but lifts again right before it closes. You scoff as the claw moves back to its original position. Tweek steps up from behind you and pushes 2 more coins in. He moves the claw with ease, it drops over the things head and clamps down then drags it over to the opening. Clyde is cheering as it drops, clapping excitedly before clinging to the blonde boys arm. Tweek visibly stiffens before Clyde let's go to retrieve the plush. You glance around the arcade and aren't surprised to see it's really filling up. There wasn't much else for kids your age to do on a snow day anyway.  
Your attention is brought back to your friends by Clyde shoving his prize in your face.  
“Isn't Tweek great?! Look at this!” he is grinning, and you're glad he's happy but he's too in your space. You put your hand against the plush and shove it back towards him with a scowl. Clyde is unaffected and instead turns his attention back to Tweek. Token is leaning against the crane machine with a smile and you move to stand by him. The blonde had cracked a smile and that's enough to put you at ease. The 4 of you start to wander away from the machine and Clyde slings an arm over Tweeks shoulders, earning a squeak from the smaller boy. He looks at you helplessly and in turn you scowl at Clyde again and shove his arm away before replacing it with your own and tugging him to your side.  
“Hey now Craig, you're not very good at sharing are you?” He chuckles as he slows a bit to walk with Token.  
“No, and you should know that by now,” you raise your middle finger to Clyde and he just smiles. You notice Tweek looking up at you so you turn your attention to him.  
“I'm a human being dudes, not a stupid chinpokomon doll", he pouts and you scoff.  
“You are a doll though,” you say with a smirk. The blonde sputters, his face flushed a light pink that makes his freckles pop. The two behind you are laughing, and Token pipes up from behind you.  
“Man, quit teasing him," he croons but you just shrug and pull the blonde closer, and he doesn't seem to mind.  
“Well well, if it isn't the neighborhood fag boy. Finally found someone to stoop to your level?”  
Your heart sinks to your stomach and you turn in time to see Eric Cartman walking toward you. Your good mood is immediately vanquished, and your first reaction is to get angry. After all, your temper has given you the reputation of being a scrappy kid. You don't know how Tweek will react to the situation, or even how far it will escalate so you pass him off to Token.  
“Take him outside, I'll be there in a minute," you don't move your eyes from Eric's, and he's glowing at you with an ugly smirk.  
“Don't want your faggy little friend to see you get your ass kicked?” he snorts and you waste no time stepping closer to him, although he is much bigger than you so it isn't very intimidating. However, you know you are much stronger than Eric is.  
“What's your problem, man? Mad cause you lost all that weight but your personality is so shitty you still can't get any?” you smirk and he scowls, balling his hands into fists. You see Kenny wander up behind Eric and flash you an apologetic look.  
“Yeah right, queer. At least girls actually want to fuck me and I don't have to resort to some twitchy little freak,” he steps toward you, leaving almost no room between the two of you. Your face twists in anger and you can see in his face he thinks he said the right words to piss you off.  
“Quality is better than quantity, Cartman,” you spit out his name like it's poison. “How did your chlamydia test turn out?”  
The larger boy shoves you and you just stare at him blankly before shoving him, stifling a laugh when he stumbles back.  
“Well?”  
Clyde is tugging your arm now, begging you to just walk away with him.  
“Craig, come on, Token and Tweek are waiting for us.” That gets your attention, and you let him pull you away.  
“That's right homo, run back to your little faggot friend!” Cartman chuckles but it's cut short when you whip around and clock him right in the face. There's an audible crack, and when you pull your hand back and shake it out you notice it's bloody. Eric reaches up to cover his face and you watch Kenny pull the bandana from his face.  
“Holy shit, dude.” The older blonde chuckles as he puts a hand on Eric's shoulder, and that's the last thing you see before Clyde drags you out of the arcade. Tweek rushes to you when you step out of the building and immediately frowns.  
“Craig, there's blood all,” and he stops talking when you grab his hand and start pulling him away. With your unoccupied hand, you flash them a quick wave and you can hear Clyde yelling in your direction but you pay no mind. You spend the walk to your house in silence, a scowl on your face as the blonde looks on in worry.  
You're ecstatic when you get home and no one else is there. Tweek follows you into the house and shuts the door gently behind him before kicking off his shoes. You still haven't spoken to him and you can tell by his body language he is unsure. You drop your scowl and step towards him. He reaches a hand up to wipe at the blood on your chin but it's dried to your face from the wind and cold.  
“Make yourself at home,” your words are gentle and he nods, dropping his hand and moving to sit on the couch. You notice a piece of paper taped to the tv and you pluck it from the screen.  
‘Took Ruby and some friends to Denver, will be home late.’  
It significantly increases your mood and you smile as you toss the paper into the trash. You turn the TV on and toss the remote to the blonde on the couch. He catches it and starts channel flipping as you wander away and up the stairs.  
When you get to the bathroom you turn the hot water on in the shower as high as it goes. Turning to the mirror, you pull your blue chullo off your head and run your fingers through your inky hair. Your grimace at your reflection. Blood is now dripping from your re-split lip, staining your mouth and the front of your shirt. You cleanch your fist then grimace at the ache in your fingers. You must have broken Cartmans nose, and you doubt he will be happy to see you again next time you run into him.  
After you shed your clothes you turn back to the mirror and gently place your hand over your reflection. Lately there has been a lot on your mind. You never thought you were gay, but you never thought you were straight either. You didn't think you were anything, and this weird bond you feel with the blonde downstairs freaked you out if you were being honest. You scoff and push away from the mirror before stepping into the scalding water. It turns your skin pink, but it feels nice so you waste five minutes just basking in the heat. You figure you best get back to Tweek, so you quickly scrub your face and hands clean then wash your hair and waste another five minutes under the water before you shut off the tap and get out. You brush your teeth quick then dry your hair before wrapping the towel around your waist and tying it off. As you approach your room you are only somewhat surprised to see the blonde standing in your room, bent over to look at the small squeaking creature in the cage on your desk. He looks up startled when he hears you walking into the room and he quickly backs away from Zig.  
“Sorry, I promise I wasn't snooping! I just heard him squeaking and I figured he was hungry and,” He sucks in a harsh breath as you take another step toward him and quickly covers his face with his arms.  
“Oh God, please don't hit me!” he shouts and clenches his eyes shut as he shys away from you. You stop dead in your tracks, face twisted in some kind of hurt. Why would he think you would hurt him? Had you given him reason to? You gently take his hands and pull them away from his face. He doesn't look at you.  
“Tweek,” you speak gently, and he finally looks up at you. “why do you think I would hit you? Is it because I hit that kid today?”  
He looks away again, moving his hands to wring them but you don't let him go.  
“I don't know, I…” His face twists and you step towards him, forcing him backwards. “Wait, you hit someone?!” His voice is shrill, his words laced together like he meant them all as one. You chuckle, releasing one of his hands to brace yourself against the wall behind him.  
“Well, yeah. I wasn't about to let him hit me,” you smile, and the terrible look on his face falters as his tries to smile back.  
“Oh, I… well I thought that's what happened. I was afraid he hurt you," he raises his hand to touch your cheek and you drop his other hand.  
You laugh as you realize you haven't even gotten dressed yet, and his face flushes pink when he realizes what you think is so funny. He ducks out from under your arm and fast walks to the door.  
“I'll be downstairs,” he talks quickly, but he's still smiling so you know he's okay. You nod and smile as he shuts the door behind him.


End file.
